Crystal City Entertainment, Rakia Media and animation development exec Nate Hopper have teamed up to turn the bestselling children’s book series Tiny T. Rex into an animated preschool show that they plan to start introducing to buyers in the coming months.

The IP revolves around a small dinosaur who learns to navigate big feelings and typical preschooler experiences, such as going to school for the first time and coping with a fear of the dark.

To date, Chronicle Books has published eight titles written by Jonathan Stutzman and illustrated by Jay Fleck. The first one came out in 2019, and book number nine is scheduled for a May 19 rollout. Data from 2025 pegged the book franchise’s sales at more than 750,000 units, and at the time there were 12 partners engaged for foreign-language editions.

Chronicle has already done some early consumer products deals with partners including Mudpuppy (both companies are owned by the McEvoy Group) for puzzles and a magnetic playset, and Merrymakers for plush.

And now the property is moving into TV, thanks to IP holding company Rakia Media and production company Crystal City, which have more experience with older-skewing films such as The Ides of March and The Butler. Still largely unknown in the kids space, the companies have made several recent moves to change that. Rakia owner and Crystal City president Ari Pinchot is behind a new revival of the ’90s video game franchise Backyard Sports. And in January, Crystal City acquired the rights to make content based on the ’70s/’80s family-friendly fad Chia Pets.

Hopper is a long time senior animation exec who has served in executive roles on major animated franchises including Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Surf’s Up, Open Season and Transformers One. He has decades of experience developing and overseeing global family brands across film and television.

Image courtesy of Rakia/Crystal City Entertainment. 

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Rakia Media and Crystal City Entertainment are separate companies with some overlapping ownership.